Matt Novak

A couple in Northern California recently uncovered a time capsule hunter's dream: six metal canisters filled with rare coins, valued at about $10 million.

The canisters were filled with a total of 1,427 coins, all dating from 1847 to 1894. The face-value of the coins only adds up to about $27,000. But the fact that so many are rare and in such pristine condition leads some people to estimate that they could be worth about $10 million.

The time capsules were all found on the couple's property in the Gold Country region of California while they were out walking their dog. Apparently the couple spotted a small bit of metal sticking out of the ground and started to dig. They (quite understandably) wish to remain anonymous.

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"I don't like to say once-in-a-lifetime for anything, but you don't get an opportunity to handle this kind of material, a treasure like this, ever," a representative of the finders told the Associated Press. "It's like they found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow."

The six metal canisters that housed the coins were in pretty rough shape, as you can see from the photo above. Even though we know all the coins date from 1847 to 1894, it's not clear yet when they may have been buried. [NBC News]

Photos: Screenshot of the canisters via NBC News; David Hall, co-founder of Professional Coin Grading Service, poses with some of 1,427 Gold-Rush era U.S. gold coins via the Associated Press